Sheladia Associates, Inc.

Road safety is a rapidly growing concern in Sri Lanka. Since 1995, in association with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided technical assistance (TA) to the Government of Sir Lanka for road safety work. Action plans have been developed for implementation during subsequent ADB loans for road improvement. ADB, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and SIDA currently support Loan 1711-SRI (SF): Southern Transport Development Project (STDP). The STDP entails the construction of a new 128 km limited access/expressway between Colombo and Matara in the south, the first of its kind for Sri Lanka. It includes the following components:

• Southern Highway Component (SHC) – Civil Works, financed by ADB and JBIC
• SHC – Consulting Services for Construction Supervision, financed by ADB and JBIC
• Project Management – Consulting Services, financed by NDF
• Road Safety Component (RSC) – Civil Works, financed by ADB
• RSC Consulting Services, financed by NDF and SIDA
• RSC Equipment, financed by NDF.

The RSC aims to strengthen national public and private sector road safety institutions, and directly reduce road accidents. These objectives are to be achieved by implementing a detailed road safety action plan. To implement RSC, the executing agency for the STDP, the Ministry of Highways (MOH) has procured the services of a consultant using the procurement rules of NDF and entrusted the implementation of the RSC with the National Road Safety Secretariat (NRSS). The consultant is responsible for (i) implementing the road safety action plan, (ii) preparing black spots improvement program (component D), and (iii) proposing equipment to support the RSC implementation. The RSC consulting services support to (i) strengthening and further development of road safety institutions and organizations, (ii) road safety audit, (iii) development of driver training programs, (iv) improvement of vehicle safety standards, (v) vehicle registration and administration, (vi) strengthening of traffic police, (vii) establishment of Highway Patrol Units, (viii) establishment of emergency and rescue services, (ix) implementation of traffic education in schools, (x) implementation of accident data systems, (xi) revising traffic laws and regulations, (xii) monitoring of and research and development on road safety activities, (xiii) development of a traffic training center and model vehicle inspection center, and (xiv) information campaigns and public awareness. The RSC includes activities to prepare road users and traffic police for the operation of high-speed, access controlled highways in general and on the new Colombo-Matara road in particular.

At appraisal, the Project was scheduled for implementation during period of 2000 – 2005, with the ADB loan closing date of 31 December 2006. Due to prolonged land acquisition and resettlement process, the Project was declared effective only on 30 October 2002. However, as the RSC is a continuation of previous programs, it was agreed to keep the momentum by commencing RSC before the main Loan effective. The consultant commenced work in February 2002, some 7 months before the loan effectiveness date for ADB loan (and thus in effect also the NDF funding). The actual start of the construction works has been delayed and completion is currently expected to be delayed some 12-18 months. This means that some of the planned RSC input may not be possible to execute during the current consultancy assignment as envisaged. In addition, actual contract sums for the construction contracts exceed the currently available loans and there is hence concern that possible re-designs in order to reduce costs may impact on the RSC.

Recent donor missions have also noted concerns about the institutional strength of the NRSS and its supervision of the RSC consultant, in particular, and a growing public concern over the seemingly growing road safety problem in the country, in general. ADB, NDF and Sida have therefore agreed to undertake a review of RSC.

Brief Description of Services Provided

• Review of road traffic and accident in Sri Lanka in general, including road accident situation and the nature of road safety problem
• Review the institutional framework including ministries and agencies involved in RSC, the NRSS, RSC consultant, human resources, and financing
• Review the Government’s priorities with respect to road safety, in general, and resource allocation for the planned road safety activities under the STDP in particular
• Review the road safety activities including the action plans and the overall countermeasure implementation
• Review the adherence to, and relevance of the applicable agreements, including routines for reporting and payments
• Review and assess NGO and private sector participation in road safety work in general, and the RSC of STDP in particular
• Assess the achievement of objectives and purposes of RSC to-date, against the background of the Project Document and the TOR, and assess possible outcome at the end of the current component E contract period
• Assess the cost-effectiveness of the road safety activities in relation to the overall STDP works
• Review the relevance of the recommendations given by the RSC consultant and all other relevant aspects of the RSC as designed and currently being implemented, including road safety audits and the status of its implementation
• Review overall road safety program and assess its short-term and long-term effects. Assess the strengths and weaknesses in road safety works.
• Propose recommendations for improvement, including:
• Under STDP: redesign RSC with regards to activities, implementation arrangement, consultant inputs, stakeholder and donor coordination, etc., taking into consideration the available resources and overall project implementation schedule
• Beyond STDP: recommends further actions necessary towards sustainable reduction of road accidents in Sri Lanka